Ryoko The Cat & The Lost Souls
by Darkshadow2k7
Summary: An AU of Sonic Adventure. Eggman is planning an new evil plan after his old one failed to take over the world. Meanwhile a feline living in the Mystic Ruins will be tossed into an adventure of a lifetime. (This story takes place after the events of both Sonic Adventure 1 & Sonic Adventure 2)
1. Trouble In Mystic Ruins

It was a quiet time deep in the jungle of the Mystic Ruins. The peaceful scenery and the beautiful sounds of nature really brings the beauty of the jungle. In the local watering pond, a beautiful feline in a light blue two-piece bikini is swimming underwater looking at the marine life. Her fur is black with purple tribal markings over her beautiful body, her soft eyes are blue, and her princess-like long hair is black. She loves swimming underwater, which is weird because cats hate water. As she was swimming, she sees a fishing line got caught on a rock. She goes to the line and unhooks it from the rock. She swims up to the surface and starts to breath in some fresh air. She wipes some water from her eyes and sees a big cat with a fishing pole and a frog at his side. She chuckles to see it was her friend Big the Cat. "Oh...hello, Ryoko," said Big with a smile. "Hey, Big. Your line was caught on the rock again," said Ryoko with a chuckle. He rubs his and said "Sorry. It's like the 15th time this month." "It's ok, Big. No harm, no foul. I just don't want you get upset for not catching any fish," said Ryoko, "hold on for a minute, Big." She takes a deep breath and dives back under the water. A few seconds later, she comes back up with a big fish for him. "Here you go, Big. A big, juicy fish for you to enjoy," said Ryoko as she hands him the fish. "Thank you, Ryoko," said Big as he bows at her, "come on, Froggy. Let's head home." Froggy ribbits as he hops on Big's head and they heads home. She smiles as she swims to the other side of the watering pond and climbs out of it. She gets her towel and starts to dry herself off. "A nice lovely dip in the pond of a quiet jungle. Such a purrrrr-fect day," said Ryoko as she gathers her items, slips on her sandals and heads off to her home.

On the other side of Mystic Ruins, Sonic is sitting at Tails' Workshop as Tails was busy working on their bi-plane, the Tornado. After defeating the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik, aka Dr. Eggman, they are enjoying their much need vacation. "Man, I can't believe it, Tails. This is like the millionth time we've beaten Eggman," said Sonic as he was eating his chilli dog. "Yeah, but despite all the times we do beat him, he always comes up with a new evil plan. We need to be on our toes if he does bring one to us, Sonic," said Tails as he was tighting the bolts of the Tornado's engine. "Don't worry, Tails. I have Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Blaze, Amy and the others to relay the infomation to us if Eggman is cooking up trouble again. Until then, let's just enjoy this day, buddy," said Sonic as he takes another bite out of his chilli dog. He shakes his head as he went back to working on the Tornado.

In the home of Ryoko, she was sitting in her living room doing her meditation sessions. Her clothing is a red track pants, white gloves, red sneakers and an orange tank top. "Release the locks of worldly possessions. We starts from nothing and we return to nothing..." said Ryoko in a trance. Just then, her computer starts to ding. She gets up and heads to her computer. She cuts in on and sees something going into the temple. A closer look and it appears to be a robot. "A robot? It must be one of Eggman's robots. If it's here, then Eggman's not far behind. I better head over there just in case there's trouble," said Ryoko as she starts to head out of her home to the temple.

In the temple, a robotic worker is exploring the temple looking for something for Dr. Eggman to take over the world. It's metalic body is a mixture of red and yellow, Dr. Eggman's trademark colors, and it's eyes are green. It's weapon is a modified blaster which is powerful enough to break the toughest rock. "Dr. Eggman, this is E-297 Alpha reporting in," said the robot using his built in com radio. "This is Eggman. I'm reading you loud and clear, Alpha," said Eggman on the other line. "I'm in the temple as you ordered me to. Also, I've made sure that Sonic & his friends didn't follow me," said Alpha. "Excellent! Now go to the Inner Sanctum at the bottom of the ruin. My readings have perdicted a powerful energy source that could help me take over the world," said Eggman. "Understood," said Alpha as he heads deeper into the temple. Unknown to Alpha, Ryoko was hiding behind the corner and looking at Alpha. "Yup, it's definitely one of Eggman's bots. I don't know what's Eggman up to, but it can't be good. I better follow that hunk of junk," said Ryoko as she starts to follow Alpha.

Back at Tails' Workshop, Sonic was about to take a nap when Tails came in and screamed "Sonic! Eggman's warship is coming!" He get up and heads outside to see the Egg Carrier flying over the workshop. "What's Eggman up to now?" asked Sonic. "I don't know but let's follow it, Sonic," said Tails. "Let's juice, Tails," said Sonic as he dashes away with his trademark speed. "Wait up, Sonic," said Tails as he uses his twin tails to catch up.

In the Inner Sanctum of the temple, Alpha comes in the sees a giant black emerald in the middle of the room. He goes to the emerald and use his scaner to scan the contents of the emerald. He sees something moving inside the emerald and is saying something in ancient tongue that his databanks couldn't decipher. "Eggman. Alpha here. I've located the source of the readings. There's a giant black emerald in here," said Alpha on the . "Really? Hmm...I thought the Master Emerald is the only giant emerald in the world and the bothersome echidna is guarding that. Is anyone guarding it?" asked Eggman. He looks around and said "Negitive. It seems to be no other lifeform here to protect it." "This is too perfect! I'll come in and get the emerald. Make sure no one goes near it before I get there," said Eggman. "Understood," said Alpha as he starts to put up some markers around the emerald. Ryoko sneaks behind a giant rock and looks on. "I don't know what it's doing, but it's not going to take the emerald to Eggman," said Ryoko as she starts to plan of attack. But before she can do anything, Alpha's systems alerted him of an intruder. "Intruder detected. Executing extermination protocals," said Alpha as he starts firing at the rock that Ryoko is hiding. She jumps out in the open and dodges Alpha's shots. "Dang it! This is so uncool!" screamed Ryoko as she keeps dodging. "Scanning...Scanning...Species: Feline. IQ: 278. Testing combat experience..." said Alpha as he stops shooting and goes in for hand-to-hand combat. Ryoko sees this and starts fighting Alpha with her fists and kicks. A 9th degree black belt in Tai Chi fighting style, she was giving Alpha a run for his money. His metal body is now got fist imprints from her attacks and he backs away from her. "Combat experience: Very high. Data collected. Resuming fight," said Alpha as he starts combing hand-to-hand and shooting his blaster at her. She dodges his attacks and counterattacks him with her own. Before Alpha was critcally damanged, Ryoko was caught in a net that was fired from above. "Hey! What gives?!" screams Ryoko as she tries to free herself from the net. Dr. Eggman come down in his floating Eggmobile with a crane on the bottom and said "I should be asking you that, feline!" She looks at him and said "Dr. Eggman!" "The one and only. I'm surprised that the blue hedgehog isn't the one that's giving Alpha a run for his money," said Eggman as he looks at the damage Alpha sustain, "hmm...by the looks of the damage, you really did a number on him." "Systems engine output at 50% and dropping..." said Alpha as some sparks starts to come from him. "You are in need of some repairs and a few upgardes," said Eggman as he lower the crane and grabs the emerald. "You won't get away with this, Eggman!" screamed Ryoko. "Foolish feline. Who's going to stop me?" asked Eggman as he laughing hard. Sonic comes in with Tails and said "Long time no see, Egghead!" "You again?! Well, no matter. I got what I've came for! Alpha! Smokescreen!" screamed Eggman. "Understood!" screams Alpha as he fires smoke pellets to fill the whole room with black smoke. As Sonic, Tails & Ryoko was coughing because of the smoke, Eggman and Alpha got away with the emerald. Once the smoke clears up, Eggman, Alpha and the emerald is gone. "Great. He got away," said Sonic as he kicks up some dirt. "Yeah, but I wonder why he got that emerald? This is strange," said Tails in a calm voice. "Um, hello? Alittle help here?" asked Ryoko as she was still trap in the net. Sonic and Tails helps Ryoko out of the net and she said "Thank you. I would have stop them if it wasn't for the net." "What's going on here? Also, who are you?" asked Sonic. "I'll explain everything to you and your fox friend. But for now, let's go to my home. I have my notes and research on the Black Emerald, the one Eggman got away with," said Ryoko. Sonic and Tails both nod as they follow Ryoko to her home to get some information on the Black Emerald.


	2. Ryoko's Fate of Destiny

Ryoko opens the door of her home for her, Sonic & Tails. "This is my home. Please make yourselves comfortable," said Ryoko with a smile. Sonic and Tails walk in the room and sits on her sofa. "Let me freshen up for a bit and bring out my notes on the emerald," said Ryoko as she heads into her room to get herself ready. The two heroes look around her home and sees that it's in perfect harmony. Her stacks of many books in their shelves neatly, her files and notes are stack up nicely, her bonsai trees are stacked up on the windows getting the much needed sunlight, and her desk has pictures around her computer. Tails look at the picture to see Ryoko, Big & Froggy in the photo. "I have to admit, she does have a nice place, Tails," said Sonic. "You aren't kidding, Sonic. It seems well organized," said Tails. "Thanks. It's the first time I ever have guests in my home. Consider this an honor," said Ryoko as she comes in the living room wearing her black shirt with matching skirt, white lab coat, black shoes and glasses. "Thank you miss..." said Sonic as he was trying to find out her name. Ryoko chuckles softly and said "Oh...clumsy me. I forgot to tell you my name. My name is Ryoko the Cat, freelance archaeologist, inventor and a 9th degree Tai Chi black belt. I heard alot about you two, Sonic the Hedgehog & Miles 'Tails' Prower." "Whoa! You know about us?" asked Sonic in a surprised voice. "News travels fast on the net. You two are heroes for saving both Station Square & the world. But enough chit-chat, right now we need to focus on the task at hand," said Ryoko as she gets her files and research notes on the Black Emerald. "What's all this?" asked Tails as he is looking through the files. "All of my research I have on the emerald I code name Black Emerald, Tails. I've been studying it for years," said Ryoko as she starts opening her notepad. "When did you come across this Black Emerald, Ryoko?" asked Sonic. "Well, it's a long and interesting story," said Ryoko. "We got time. Right, Tails?" asked Sonic. "Yeah," said Tails. Ryoko smiles as she starts to tell them how she found the Black Emerald.

(Mystic Ruins ~8 Years Ago~)

Walking around the jungle of Mystic Ruins is a ten year old feline named Ryoko. Her fur is black on her beautiful body, her soft eyes are blue, and her princess-like long hair is black. Her clothing is an standard safari outfit with brown boots and hat. She pulled out her notepad and starts writing information on the plant life in a jungle enviroment, as she does most of her time. "Interesting. These plants are very exotic and rare this time of year," said Ryoko as she was writing the plants in the notepad. Once she did that, she turns to see a temple that has it calling her out as if the temple is telling her to come inside. "Hmm...I wonder what's inside that temple?" asked Ryoko as she heads inside the temple. Once inside the temple, she looks around the temple and starts to hear the whispers. _Someone's here..._ "W...who said that?!" screamed Ryoko in a scared voice. _She's the one..._ "The one? One to what?" asked Ryoko as she calms down. _Downstairs...The Inner Sanctum..._ "Inner Sanctum? Where's that?" asked Ryoko. Just then, the wall on the right side of her opens up for her. She goes to the place slowly and looks around for any traps. "I swear it there's a trap in the Inner Sanctum..." said Ryoko as she heads down to the Inner Sanctum.

(Back to the Present)

"Wow. So you entered a temple because of some whispers, Ryoko?" asked Sonic as he was eating a chilli dog. "Hey you would too if you are in the temple, Sonic," said Ryoko as she was drinking some homemade tea. The trio are having lunch that Ryoko made for them. "Well don't stop now. Please continue the story," said Tails as he eats some chocolate chip cookies. "Of course," said Ryoko as she continues her story.

(The Inner Sanctum of the Temple ~8 Years Ago~)

Ryoko comes down the stairs to the Inner Sanctum and sees a large room. She looked around and the only thing that's in the room is a giant black emerald. "Huh...that's on big emerald," said Ryoko as she starts to head to the emerald. As she gets close to it, the whispers starts speaking to her. _She's the one...the one to guard us...She must protect us...give her the gift..._ Once her hand lands on the emerald, she starts to feel the power started to course through her body. She starts to become more powerful, more smarter and more stronger. She even learns some new fighting abilities. Her beautiful body have tribal tattoos all over her. She falls to the ground and panting hard. "Ok...T...that was intense..." said Ryoko as she get up slowly. She looks at the emerald and sees something moving inside it. "Interesting. I need to do some tests and run. Also, I do want to have a home that's somewhere near here," said Ryoko as she head back outside. After she left, the whispers started to speak. _She will be the one...to save us..._

(Back to the Present)

"So that explains the tattoos on your body, Ryoko?" asked Tails. "That's right, Tails. I have to admit, they is pretty cool," said Ryoko as she looks at her tattoos and smiles. "So what happens next?" asked Sonic. "Oh yeah. Let me finish my story," said Ryoko as she starts to finish her story.

(Ryoko's Home ~8 Years Ago~)

For the next 8 years, Ryoko have been spending her time and enegry studying the emerald she called the Black Emerald. She manages to get a home built close to temple and honing her new fighting skills. She also goes by the temple to make sure no one mess with the emerald.

(Back to the Present)

"So, in conclusion, I became the Guardian of the Black Emerald and been doing my research on it every since that fateful day," said Ryoko. "Wow. So you're like the feline version of our friend Knuckles, Ryoko," said Sonic. "That is an interesting story," said Tails. "Thank you. You know, you two are the only ones to listen my story," said Ryoko as she blushes softly. "But why did Eggman took the Black Emerald for?" asked Sonic. "I don't know. But the answers are in my notes so we need to find them," said Ryoko. "She's right, Sonic. Let's help her out," said Tails. "Ok, Tails," said Sonic. So, the trio started to look through her research to find some information on the Black Emerald and trying to get it back from Eggman.


	3. The Birth of E-297 Alpha

Abroad the Egg Carrier, Eggman's massive flying warship, he was going over to see Alpha to see how's he holding up. Orbot follows him and asked "Sir, is everything ok?" "Of course. I need to run a damage report on Alpha. That blasted feline really did a number on him," said Eggman. "Really? Perhaps a upgrade or two might help?" asked Orbot. "Hmm...that's not a bad idea, Orbot. Have the Egg Carrier to take us to the secret base, post haste," said Eggman. "Right away, sir," said Orbot as he got to pilot the Egg Carrier. He press the elevator and goes down to the hangar to check on Alpha.

(Eggman's Secret Base ~Few Months Ago~)

Everything was black. Nothing. Just then, systems began to start up. The green screen come on. In the view is Eggman. "Ah! All systems full power!" screamed Eggman with a laugh. The screen moves left, then right, then back to Eggman. "You should be greatful that you have been created by the greatest scientist in the world. You will be the final, yet perfect, installment of my E Series. You will be know as E-297 codename Alpha," said Eggman in a proud voice. He looks at his latest creation. It's metalic body is a mixture of red and yellow, Dr. Eggman's trademark colors, and it's eyes are green. It's weapon is a modified blaster which is powerful enough to break the toughest rock. "Alpha..." said the robot. "That's right, and you obey only me," said Eggman. "Understood, Dr. Eggman," said Alpha.

(Back to the Egg Carrier)

In the hanger of the Egg Carrier, Alpha as sitting near a recharge station to recharge his power cells. "Recharging progress: 57 % complete..." said Alpha. Eggman goe to him and said "I knew I found you here." He looks up and said "It's the most quiet part of the carrier." "I see. Run a full damage report," said Eggman. Alpha does a self diagnosis on himself and said "Diagnosis complete. Mid-section damage: 91 % damage, upper body damage: 87 % damage, limb damage: 67 % damage, leg damage: 40 % damage." "Ugh...sounds like you was in a prize fight with a boxer and came out on the losing end. Hmm...You have been due for some upgrades and new armor. Once we get to the base, you will be fitted with some new upgrades but for now, I'm placing you on the DL," said Eggman. "Understood, master. I did record some data on the feline who I was fighting," said Alpha. "Perfect. Now, rest up. We will be arriving at the base real soon," said Eggman as he returns back up topside. Alpha relax as he resumes recharging.

(Eggman's Secret Base ~Few Months Ago~)

Alpha spends his days training his shots and targeting system on his targets in Eggman's Holographic Training course. Eggman, along with Cubot & Orbot, looked on as he was chasing a holographic version of Sonic & Tails. He been dodging most of the dou's attacks and landing some promising shots with his training blaster. "Wow, boss. He's way better than I was when I tried this course," said Cubot as he rub his square head. "That's because you was running into holo rocks instead of trying to capture Sonic," said Eggman as he was rubbing his forehead to rid himself of a headache. "But they're so shiny, boss," said Cubot. "You're giving Eggman a headache again," said Orbot. Before Cubot can said something else (which will be pretty stupid because it is Cubot), Alpha have blasted both holographic Sonic & Tails. "Holographic Sonic & Tails. Targets terminated," said Alpha as he fires a victory shot in the air as to pay homage to E-102 codename Gamma. "Excellent work, Alpha. Keep this up and you should to be ready to get in the field," said Eggman with a smile. "Understood, master. I will keep training until I'm ready to take on the real Sonic & Tails," said Alpha as he goes to a recharging station. "At the rate he's going in his training, Sonic & Tails won't be able to beat him," said Orbot. "He'll might be the one to finally finish off the blasted hedgehog once and for all. This will be perfect," said Eggman as he is laughing evilly.

(Eggman's Secret Base ~Present~)

The Egg Carrier landed inside Eggman's Base on a secluded island in the middle of nowhere. It was the last place Sonic and his friends would find him. His Eggbots comes out and carry Alpha to the mechanical tune-up garage for repairs and upgrades. His secondary Eggbots comes in and carries the Black Emerald. "Take the emerald to the research room and be extra careful of that! If you break it, I'll break you!" screamed Eggman as he gets off and rubs his giant Eggbots nods as they took the giant emerald to the research room so he study it. He turns to Orbot and said "Make sure to extract the memory of Alpha fighting that feline and anything else from his databanks. I want to know what happened while he was in that temple." "Of course, your evilness," said Orbot as he heads to the garage to extract the memory of the feline fighting Alpha from his databanks. Once Orbot's gone, Eggman heads to his office to look over the video.

(Eggman's Secret Base ~2 Days Ago~)

As Alpha was trying out his newest modified blaster he got for completing his training, Eggman comes in with his very 1st assignment. "Good to see you got your blaster, Alpha. I got your first assignment," said Eggman. "What is the assignment, master?" asked Alpha as he turns to face him. "I have been getting reports of large energy readings from one of the ruins deep in the Mystic Ruins. Whatever it is, it must be powerful. Powerful enough for me to take over the world," said Eggman. "I see, master," said Alpha. "So, I'm going to be dropping you off in the Mystic Ruins in 2 days. Once you land, find the temple that has the highest energy reading and contact me by radio. I want to get to it 1st before the Hedgehog and his friends," said Eggman. "And what if they do get there before me, master?" asked Alpha. "Then you do what you are programmed to do, terminate them," said Eggman. "Understood. I will be ready in 2 days, master," said Alpha. "Very good. This is your 1st of your many assignments. Don't let me down," said Eggman as he leaves. Alpha thinks about what Eggman said and said "I won't fail..."

(Eggman's Secret Base ~Present~)

In Eggman's office, he was watching the footage of Alpha's fight with Ryoko in the temple. "This feline knows her fighting skills. But those markings...they're tribal tattoos. Could she be the guardian of the emerald? That can't be. The only guardian of the emerald is the Echinda and the Master Emerald. But this feline...I need more infomation on her," said Eggman as he switch to another video of Alpha's memory, "now what do we have here?" It's the video of Alpha examining the emerald and sees something moving inside it. "Is it another Chaos? Hmm...I don't know if I can control a Chaos," said Eggman as he remembers what happened to him when he tried to control Chaos from the Master Emerald, "but this time I will be ready. Eggbots!" As if on cue, the Eggbots comes into his office and salutes to him. "I'm going to the research room to study the giant emerald. I don't know what will happen but I want you to protect me at all cost," said Eggman. The Eggbots nods as they followed him into the research room, unware of the darkness that is coming from the emerald.


	4. Ashura Unleashed

Eggman, along with his Eggbots, heads into the research room where the Black Emerald is. Given the fact that it might have a Chaos in it, he's not taking any chances. He open the door and sees the emerald glowing brightly and the whispers getting louder. "What?" said Eggman as he gets closer to it. He sees the emerald starting to crack open a little. "Get ready!" screamed Eggman as he order the Eggbots to get ready.

At Ryoko's home, she starts to groan in pain and feels her body burning. "Ryoko, what's wrong?" asked Sonic in a worried voice. "I...don...oh god! It burns!" screams Ryoko as she falls to her hands and knees as her tattoos starts to let out black aura and her eyes starts turning red. Before Sonic and Tails can do anything, she falls onto the floor and passed out from the pain.

Back at the research room, the emerald breaks into 13 pieces and coming out of it is a liquid female form of Chaos. Her liquid form body is all black and her eyes are red. She starts to pant softly and said "Souls...I need souls..." "Eggbots! Attack!" screamed Eggman. The Eggbots starts firing at her. She chuckles softly as she dodges the attacks and destroy all of them. She goes to Eggman and looks at her carefully like a predator studing her prey. Eggman was sweating WD-40 as the female Chaos keeps on looking at him. "Hmm...you're not her..." said the Chaos in a soft voice. "Who's her?" asked Eggman. "The one...the cipher," said Chaos as she calms down and looks around the room. "Um...what is your name?" asked Eggman as he tries not to anger the female Chaos. She turns to him and said "I am Ashura, the Goddess of Dread. I devour souls to gain more power. I was trapped in that accursed emerald and now I'm free to devour more souls." As she walks around, Eggman was thinking about what Ashura said. "The cipher...could she mean that feline that was fighting Alpha?" said Eggman in a soft voice. Ashura sees the 13 shards of the Black Emerald and groans as she still feels the energy from them. "G...get rid of those shards..." said Ashura in a weaken voice. He press a button and toss the shards out of the room, which they starts to scatter across the globe. She regains her strength and said "Thank you. Now I need souls..." "Souls? But why do you need souls?" asked Eggman. "Because I need to become more powerful and rid myself of the cipher of the Black Emerald. Even though I am powerful, I'm still no match to the cipher," said Ashura. "Perhaps I can help you beat this cipher and in return you can help me take over the world so that I can build my ultimate city: Robotnik Land," said Eggman with an evil grin. "Hmm...That could work. What is you name?" asked Ashura with a grin. "I am Dr. Eggman, the greatest scientist in the world," said Eggman as he holds out his hand. She shakes his hand and said "I think you and I will work together perfectly, Dr. Eggman."

Back at Ryoko's home, she's laying on the floor still passed out while her tattoos are still letting out black auras. "Oh no! She passed out. What are we going to do, Sonic?" asked Tails in a worried voice. "I don't know. But I think I know who can help us. I'll go and get Knuckles to help us. In the meantime, stay with Ryoko until she wakes up," said Sonic as he speeds out of Ryoko's home to find Knuckles. Tails picks up Ryoko and carries her to the couch. He lays her on the couch and puts a blanket on her. He sits down near the couch and looks at her sleeping. "Please be ok, Ryoko," said Tails in a soft voice.


	5. The Cipher Awaken

Ryoko woke up softly and rubs her head. "Ugh...where am I?" asked Ryoko as she looks around to find out that she's in an ancient room. She looks down and sees that her clothing has change into a female tribal outfit. "Hmm...this is interesting," said Ryoko as she gets up from a slab that she was sleeping on and stretches her body. She walked around the room to study the markings. "These are the same markings I saw in the temple of the Black Emerald. This can't be...how is it possible?" asked Ryoko as she was in a state of shock. Unknown to her, a female feline villager comes to up to her and gasps softly. "Oh my goodness. The Cipher's awaken," said the female as she bows at Ryoko. She turns around and sess a feline bowing at her. "A Cipher? I'm the Cipher?" asked Ryoko in a soft voice. "Oh course. You're the one to calm the restless spirits of the Emerald of Dread," said the Villager. *Emerald of Dread...could she be talking about the Black Emerald?* thought Ryoko in her head. Before anything else can happen, she hears someone calling her name and everything fades to black

(Ryoko's Room)

She wakes up from her slumber in her own home. She sees Tails resting on the floor but doesn't sees Sonic. She thinks about what happened when she was sleeping. "Was it just a dream? Or was it something else? Cipher? What does that means?" asked Ryoko as she gets up softly from her sofa to not wake Tails up. She was going to the kitchen to get some juice but stops as she sense something outside. Something inside her clicked and she starts to head outside to find the source.

(At Angel Island)

Sonic makes his way to Angel Island, a small floating island with a bridge connecting to the clif of Mystic Ruins. "I sure hope Knuckles is awake," said Sonic as he crosses the bridge to meet his friend/rival Knuckles. As he was coming up, he sees Knuckles shadowboxing while being near the Master Emerald. "Yo, Knuckles!" said Sonic as he walks up to him. "Hey, Sonic. What's brings you here? I was just doing some shadowboxing to keep my skills sharp," said Knuckles as he wipes the sweat from his face. "Hey you know about the Master Emerald and is there's only one Master Emerald, right?" asked Sonic in a calm voice. "Yeah that's right. Why you asked that, Sonic?" asked Knuckles. "Well, what if there's another Master Emerald around here?" asked Sonic. Knuckles looks at him and said "That's impossible, Sonic. There's only one Master Emerald and the Echidna Tribe has been guarding the Master Emerald long before I came into the picture." "You might want to sit down, Knuckles. It's a long story," said Sonic in a calm voice. He sits down as Sonic starts telling him about what happened so he get caught up to speed.

(Oustide Ryoko's Home)

Ryoko heads outside and she starts to sense something around her home. "I...I sensed the...p...pieces..." said Ryoko as she closes her eyes for a second and when she opens them she sees the locations of the hidden pieces of the Black Emerald pieces. "They are here...I need to get them," said Ryoko as she starts to get the pieces. She heads to the palm tree and sees the piece on top of it. She hops on the tree and starts climb up to get the piece. "Well, that wasn't too hard," said Ryoko with a smile. She sensed the second one in the small pond near her home and she heads to it. She carefully walked in the pond, trying not to scare the fish and get the second piece. "Awesome. One more to go," said Ryoko as she looks for the third piece.

(Back at Angel Island)

"So you're telling me that there is another Master Emerald around here and the guardian is a feline cat?" asked Knuckles after hearing Sonic's story. "That's right. She resting at her home. I can take you there if you want," said Sonic. "I'm up for it. Let's go meet her," said Knuckles as he gets up. Sonic nods as both him and Knuckles heads to Ryoko's home.

(Inside Ryoko's Home)

As Tails was waking up from his slumber, he sees that Ryoko is not on her sofa. "I wonder where is Ryoko?" asked Tails in a soft voice. He gets up and sees a book about the local plant life around the Mystic Ruins. He gets it and starts reading the book until Sonic or Ryoko comes in.

(Outside of Ryoko's Home)

Sonic and Knuckles arrives to Ryoko's home and before Sonic can say anything, Ryoko was on the top of her home to get the third and final piece of the Black Emerald. "Got 'em all! Purrrrr-fect!" screamed Ryoko in a proud voice. Knuckles looks at her holding the black pieces. "I guess you're not pulling my leg on the story you're telling me, Sonic," said Knuckles with a smile. Ryoko climbs down her home and walks up to Sonic and Knuckles. "Hiya, Sonic. I found these pieces of the Black Emerald. I know there are some more of them scattered around so I need to find them to restore the Black Emerald," said Ryoko as she holds the pieces in her hands. "Well, you're off on a good start, Ryoko," said Sonic with a smile. She turns to Knuckles and said "Oh my! You're an Echinda! I read about Echindas in my books but never seen one in person! What's your name?!" "Um...my name is Knuckles," said Knuckles as he rubs the back of his head. "So nice to meet you! I'm Ryoko the Cat! Please, let's head into my home so that I can study you," said Ryoko as she gets Knuckles' hand and takes him to her home. Sonic chuckles as he follows them.


	6. Ryoko Heads to Station Square

In the home of Ryoko, she is talking and writing down notes about Echindas thanks to Knuckles' knowledge. Sonic and Tails is sitting down on the sofa and was thinking about what is Eggman up to. "Hmm...Eggman is cooking up some kind of trouble but what?" asked Sonic in a soft voice. "It has to be something pretty big since he grabbed that Black Emerald. I'm not sure what's going to happen but we need to head back to Station Square to let everyone know what's happening, Sonic," said Tails in a calm voice. Meanwhile, Knuckles was just finishing up his talks with Ryoko. "...and that's how I became the gaurdian of the Master Emerald," said Knuckles. Ryoko finishing writing and said "Thank you, Knuckles. This will help me with my research on Echinda culture." She puts her notes away as she takes a sip of her milk. "Hey, Ryoko. We're heading to Station Square to meet with our friends. Wanna come with us?" asked Sonic with a smile. "Station Square? I heard about it. The good parts, that is. Not much of a city gal, but I do need to visit the city to get some supplies and food for my home. I'll go with you guys," said Ryoko. "Well, we can use the train at the station near the big pond of the Mystic Ruins," said Knuckles as he gets up along with Sonic & Tails. She nods as she up and gets some things which are her travel bag and a note book. "Ok, I'm ready guys," said Ryoko in a calm voice. "Alright. Let's go," said Sonic. The gang heads out of Ryoko's home and head to the Mystic Ruins train station. A few minutes later, they arrived to the train station just as the PA says: _"The train heading twards to Station Square will be departing soon..."_ "Thank goodness that we've arrived on time," said Ryoko as they starts to climb aboard the train. "You're not joking, Ryoko," said Tails as he, Sonic  & Knuckles board the train. They took their seats as the doors closes and the train heads to Station Square.

Meanwhile on the Egg Carrier, Ashura was looking over at the sky, planning on how she will take over this new world. _*Hmm...this world is ripe for the taking. But as long as that Cipher is around, that could put a damper on my plan for this world. Although, Dr. Eggman did say that he will help in my conquest while I help him build his Eggman Land, whatever that is. Still, I can summon my dark minions to keep her busy while my plan goes off without a hitch. Also I want to make sure I don't get trapped in the cursed emerald again.*_ said Ashura in her mind as she keeps looking on. Eggman was busy drawing up some plans for taking over the world and sees Ashura looking at the window. "Seeing something or planning something, Ashura?" asked Eggman. She turns to him and said "Only planning a way to rid ourself of the Cipher, Eggman. In fact, I sense that she, along with the blue hedgehog, orange fox, and red echinda, is heading to Station Station as we speak." "Really? I wonder what Sonic and those fools are up to?" asked Eggman as he puts his plans down on his table. "It's hard to say. The Cipher is blocking me from knowing more. It must be that my powers aren't fully back to me yet," said Ashura. "Don't worry. I'm sending in some bots to Station Square to keep them busy," said Eggman. "That's good. Just make sure they keep them very busy. That should give me enough time for my powers to return," said Ashura. He heads to the hanger to assemble his robots to head to Station Square. She chuckles softly as she starts to meditate to get her powers back.

In Station Square, a handsome muscular wolf, who is 18 years old, is sitting in the outside cafe eating an apple turnover. His fur is white as snow, his gel back hair is black, and his eyes are soft blue. His clothing is black shorts, white gloves, red sneakers, golden earring on his left ear, and a black collar with his ankh hanging on it. Resting on the his of his seat is his wooden staff. "Mmmm. This apple turnover is so good," said the wolf as he takes another bite. He looks on at the many people walking around the city and enjoying their lives. "So many people are going on their daily lives. But I must not rest. I'm still on the quest on being a warrior. I need to find and fight a warrior whereever I go to test my skills," said the wolf. He then sees Sonic and his friends coming out of Station Square Train Station. "Let's see...there's Sonic the world famous hedgehog, Tails the two-tailed fox, Knuckles the Echinda who I fought in a very close fight, and..." said the wolf before he laid his eyes on Ryoko who was rubbing her hair softly "...a beautiful feline angel..."


	7. The Cat & The Wolf

Ryoko was looking around the big buildings of Station Square with Sonic, Tails & Knuckles. It was very different from her home in the Mystic Ruins. "Oh my. This city is way bigger than the ones I read in my many books," said Ryoko in a calm voice. "Yeah it is, Ryoko. I wonder where is Amy and the others?" asked Sonic. "I heard that they might be heading to a café on the far end of Station Square," said Knuckles. "Oh yeah. Near the place where I fought Chaos a few years ago," said Sonic. "Yeah. At least you took that monster down with no problems," said Tails. "Yeah…back when he didn't absorb the Chaos Emeralds to gain power," said Sonic as he rubs the back of his head. "Well, we should go and find them, Sonic," said Knuckles in a calm voice. "Ryoko, you want to come with us?" asked Tails. Before Ryoko can say anything, she senses some dark energy somewhere in this city. _*What is this feeling…Darkness…dread…they're here…*_ thought Ryoko in her mind. "Um…Ryoko?" asked Tails in a worried voice. She looks up to him and said "I would love to, but I have to go see something. I promise I'll be back, Tails." He nods as he hugs her and said "Please be careful." She hugs him back and said "I will, Tails." After she said that, she lets go of him and runs off to Casinopolis area of Station Square. "I wonder what's that all about?" asked Knuckles in a puzzled voice. "It's a long story, Knuckles. I'll tell you on the way," said Sonic as the trio heads out to see their friends.

As she was heading to Casinopolis, the wolf finishes his apple pie and pays for his meal. "Hmm…the feline angel is making her move. I might go see if she might need some help," said the wolf as he grabs his wooden staff and follows her.

Ryoko arrives at the Casinopolis itching for a fight. "Alright! Come on out! I know you're here!" screamed Ryoko. As if on cue, dark spirit-like creatures appears, surrounding her and looking at her with dim lights. "W…what are you?!" screamed Ryoko in a scared voice. _"We are the dread…"_ said one of the creatures. _"We are the souls of the departed…"_ said the other one. _"We serve Ashura…"_ said the third one. "Ashura? Who's Ashura?" asked Ryoko. _"It's the Cipher…"_ said the dread. _"Kill the Cipher…"_ chanted the dread as they started to attack Ryoko. She started to attack them and taking out one of the dread. But, to her dismay, the dread started to come back to life and multiply to more of them. "Oh come on! Stay down!" screamed Ryoko as she keep attacking them. As she keeps fighting them, more and more have been popping up. She was getting overwhelmed and losing stamina. "Darn it…this is bad…" said Ryoko as she is panting hard. The dread is surrounding her and get ready to end her life. She closes her eyes and wait for the end. Just then, she hears some punches and hits landing and some screaming. She looks up and sees a wolf with a staff taking down all the dread. "And that's that," said the wolf as he holds his staff with pride. Ryoko looks at him and starts to blush. He turns around and goes to her. He holds out his hand and said "Need a hand, miss?" She nods as she holds his hand and he helps her up. "Y…yes. I am ok. Thank you for saving me," said Ryoko as she blushes and bows at him. He bows at him and said "You're welcome, miss. My name is Alexander The Wolf, but my friends call me Alex for short. May I ask for your name?" asked the wolf with a smile. "O…oh…my n…name is R…Ryoko the C…Cat," said Ryoko as she kept blushing and smiles weakly. "It's nice too see you, Ryoko," said Alex as he knees down to her, holds her hand and kisses it softly. Her heart was going into overdrive and, without thinking, lets out a soft purr. "You like that, kitty?" asked Alex with a smile. "N…no! You're pretty bold for kissing my hand," said Ryoko as she turns her back towards her at him. She was trying to contain her emotions, think of the art of interspecies relationships, and tries to hide her newfound feelings for the wolf who she just met. "T…this is…why…why am I feeling this? My palms are shaking, my heart is beating fast…what's going on?" asked Ryoko in a low voice. Then she was brought back to reality as she felt arms wraps around her. She turns to see Alex holding her and smiles at him. "Y…you're…holding me?" asked Ryoko as her face turning red. "You look like you need one, Ryoko," said Alex. She looks away blushing but let out a soft smile. "F…fine. Tag along with me. But you are a friend. Nothing more, nothing less," said Ryoko. "Of course, Ryoko. I'm your friend. Nothing more, nothing less," said Alex as he let go of her. "Good. Now, let's meet up with Sonic and his friends. I bet he wants to know where I'm at. And I don't want Tails to worry about me," said Ryoko in a calm voice. "Lead the way, Ryoko," said Alex in a calm voice. So, Ryoko and Alex heads back to meet with Sonic and the gang. He remembers what Ryoko said about him being just a friend. _*Nothing more, nothing less…for now, Ryoko…*_ thought Alex with a grin.


End file.
